Firelight
by PainterOfHearts
Summary: AU. Okay, I haven't done this in a while. I deleted then reposted the story b/c I was having issues with fixing the chapters. Her eyelashes fluttered at the sound of a gun being cocked, then at the sound of a low voice. "I know you're awake, heiress."
1. Prologue: Thirsty

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z. First fic in a very long time. Hope I'm not too rusty.

**Prologue: Thirsty**

She started, sitting up in her bed as she looked around with wild eyes. Her breathing was erratic, her cerulean hair sticking to her forehead and face in long sweaty strands. Her room was dark and silent as usual, excluding the unceasing hum of her poor pedestal fan as it blew mildly cool air over the bed. She brushed her hair away from her face impatiently and kicked the twisted covers away from her body.

_God, I need a drink._

She scrambled out of bed and padded her way softly to the bathroom. Feeling her way to the sink, she twisted the knob and stuck her head under the faucet. Her mother would have a fit if she saw her slurping at a sink, but that didn't exactly matter. Not anymore at least. She had her own place; she earned her own money, so by God she was entitled to a good wee-hour slurp. Turning off the faucet, she wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and made her way back to her bed in her one bedroom apartment. Crawling back under the covers, she closed her tired blue eyes with a sigh. It was small, the toilet made noise at four in the morning, it was on the third floor, but it was hers. They'd think twice before telling her she couldn't survive on her own.

He sighed and looked down at his watch. Three twenty-three. AM. He glanced back up at the door on the third floor, his eyes following the staircase traveling up the side of the building with its peeling white paint and ivy-covered roof. AM… He sighed again and closed his eyes. This wasn't in the job description. He could be at his house. Or better yet, he could be at the hunting lodge his parents had left him, sleeping in that unbelievably soft bed in the guest room. He smiled at the thought. He'd have to move that bed into the master bedroom one of these days. Who knew he could be such a pushover when it came to soft beds. Soft…foam…beds. Instead, he was here: in his car, watching a door at three thirty in the morning. His cell chirped and he opened his eyes to glare halfheartedly down at it. He picked it up and flipped it open, holding it to his ear. "What?"

"Well aren't you grumpy."

"Piss off."

"Just thought you'd like to know, Charlie will be runnin' a little late."

He growled and ran a hand through his ebony, gravity-defying hair. "_Why?_"

"He's got the runs. Satisfied?"

He scowled and snapped the phone shut and tossed it into the passenger seat with a grunt of irritation. He never liked cell phones. They just told him bad news. He didn't know where in the world he'd developed the patience to learn how to use one. Then again, he didn't know how he had developed the patience for a lot of things these days. He looked down at his fingers that tapped slowly on the steering wheel. Was it really only a few years ago he'd been killing people left and right with these same hands? He sent a small burst of energy to the tip of his index finger and a small orb of light appeared. He gave a small rueful smile and let the energy dissipate before turning his gaze back to the door on the third floor of the old apartment building.

_God, I need a drink._


	2. Chapter 1: Work

Disclaimer: Don't own DBZ. Sorry everything is so short right now, just trying to get back into the swing of writing.

**Chapter One: Work**

A small white Ford Taurus zoomed through the small town streets of Delona, TX. It was one fifty in the afternoon, which meant that it was one fifty-five at the local grocery store. She had to be at work at two, and she was four minutes away from where she needed to be. Four minutes with a time clock that was five minutes fast. She glanced down at her clock. Which left her one minute to park her car and run across the expansive parking lot. Friday. She hated Fridays. She hated weekends, because that was when she closed at _D-L's Food n' More_. Albeit, she worked every day at the store, but weekends were the worst. That was when the people who hadn't bathed in three weeks and hadn't seen the dentist since they were five crawled out to buy food they didn't need. Ah well, they were her source of income. No customers, no money. And with her current situation, she couldn't be choosy. She parked her car where the rest of the workers parked: the outskirts of the lot. Jamming her cap down over her blue hair, she popped on her name badge and hurtled out of the car and across the football field of shimmering asphalt, tightening the knot on her apron behind her back as she ran.

One of the Blue Shirts looked up from inside the office window to smile at her as she punched in. She tipped her hat with a grin and made her way to the deli. Shoving the door open, she made her way into the kitchen and dropped her purse on the desk in the back alongside everyone else's purse. She looked up to see the deli manager walk in with an arm full of racks from the oven, all caked with juices and grease from the rotisserie chickens that had obviously just been cooked. Joanne smiled at her before dropping the racks into one of the sinks. "Hey, babe."

"Hey, Joanne. How is it today?"

"Slow."

"Good. I like slow."

"Your paycheck won't if I have to keep cutting hours."

She grimaced slightly and made her way back outside. Joanne had a point. She wandered over to wash her hands and the other two girls in the deli looked up and smiled. Therecia and Natalie. Therecia was a good worker when she set her mind to it, but she tended to have a habit of leaving dishes and pans behind for them to clean. Lots of dishes and pans, plus trash to take out. Natalie was a good worker, but just didn't give a damn. "Ladies."

"Hey."

"Hey, Bulma. Get ready to be bored 'cause it is slow," Therecia drawled as she rolled her eyes and looked out over the hot case where all the fried food that would clog the arteries of a small horse was kept. Bulma grinned and went over to them as she dried off her hands, tossing the paper towel in the already filled trashcan. "I guess I'll have to find other ways to entertain myself tonight then. Who's up for strip poker?" Therecia pursed her lips, trying to keep a straight face. "Tck, girl. You bad." Natalie shook her head and put her hands on her hips close to the small of her back, her most common pose that she hadn't yet dropped since she was pregnant with her last baby. "No one wants to see me naked. Too damn fat." Bulma laughed and went over to peek into the hot case. "Fine, didn't want to play with you guys anyway." They both laughed at her. This was going to be a long day.

His cell chirped and he let out a long groan. After a few seconds, it chirped again and a hand reached out, fumbled about the nightstand for the phone, and then drew it back in under the blankets. A sleepy, muffled and irritated growl answered the phone. "What?"

"Good morning, sunshine."

"You've kept me awake for thirty-six hours. Whatever it is, I'm not doing it."

"You've stayed awake longer than that doing a lot more than just sitting in a car picking your nose."

"Yeah, that was back when my life depended on me being alert and fit, not this boring ass shit you have me doing day in and day out, wasting my time. So, I'll say it again. Whatever it is, I'm not doing it."

"Charlie's dead, Vegeta."

Vegeta opened his eyes. There was a long pause. "What?"


	3. Chapter 2: House Call

Disclaimer: Don't own DBZ.

**Chapter Two: House Call**

In actuality, the day flew by. Just as Joanne and the others had said it'd been slow, the pace naturally picked up once Bulma got there. Customer after customer came up wanting fried chicken – "No, put that one back, I want the one next to it" being the phrase of the day. She didn't even want to think about how gross it was going to be when she had to clean the meat and cheese slicers. She barely had time to breathe until she looked at the clock and saw that it was five. She threw up her hands and announced to Natalie and Melanie. "That's it! I'm goin' on break!" They merely nodded as she snatched a corndog from the hot case, slapped it on a black Styrofoam tray and took her frugal meal with her to the kitchen. Slumping down in the one chair in the deli, she sighed and set to nibbling at her food.

_CHIRP_

She jumped and sat up, digging into her pocket for her cell phone. She looked at the screen and furrowed her eyebrows questioningly. Flipping it open she held it to her ear. "Hello?"

No answer.

"Hellooo?"

Still no answer. Bulma rolled her eyes and was just about to hang up when she heard a soft sob. She stopped. Silence, then there it was again. She felt goose bumps pop up on her arms as she listened to the barely audible broken sobbing. She whispered into the phone.

"Charles?"

She had to press the phone hard to her ear, pressing the button on the side of the phone to turn it up as the person whispered back to her.

"I never meant for this to happen."

"Charles, where are you?"

"I'm sorry."

"Charle-"

_Click._

Vegeta huddled deeper into his leather jacket as he stared broodingly at the house in front of him. A petite woman with curly graying hair rushes out of the house as he walks away from his car towards her. She squeals with delight and throws her arms around him when he stops. He stands there, letting her hug him. She pulls away, wrinkles appearing around her eyes and mouth as she smiles brilliantly up at him.

"Vegeta, you should have called sooner. The house is a wreck."

He shook his head and started walking to the house again with the little woman on his arm. "Dianna."

She patted his arm in a motherly fashion. "I know, I know. I fuss too much you always tell me that."

Vegeta stepped inside the house and looked about. It was spotless as usual. There was a newspaper on the couch in front of the TV. That must be the 'wreck' she was referring to. Dianna busied herself with taking out glasses from one of the cabinets in the kitchen, and pouring them some tea. Vegeta wandered over to the couch and plopped down on it, glancing at the paper beside him before closing his eyes and letting his head fall back on the back of the couch. Dianna shuffled over to where he was and put his glass on the coffee table in front of him.

"Extra sugar, just how you like it." He didn't move.

Ever since his parents died, their former housekeeper's motherly attitude towards him had jumped from a six to twenty in the matter of a day. She was almost out of the room when he spoke. "Charlie's dead."

She stopped and looked back at him, her face stricken. After a moment, her face relaxed her eyes hollow. "Another one of my boys. How many do they plan on taking from me before they're satisfied?"

She smiled her chin quivering slightly as she turned to go back to her bedroom. He only came when another one had died. Another family she'd worked for, another child she'd watched over, another one gone. She bit her lip to keep the sob that was building in her from escaping. Not allowed to cry just yet, not until she was in her room. She never cried in front of Vegeta. That boy had seen enough tears in her opinion.


End file.
